Te Pāti Māori has filed urgent proceedings in the High Court amid concerns that Māori voters across Aotearoa have been wrongly removed from the electoral roll or shifted off the Māori roll without their consent or knowledge.
The party says it is receiving alarming reports from whānau who discovered their enrolment status had changed without notification, prompting fears of systemic voter suppression.
“We are witnessing what can only be described as voter suppression. Our whānau are being stripped of their democratic rights in silence,” said Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
Formal letters have been sent by the party to the Electoral Commission, the Minister of Justice, and the Ombudsman, calling for an urgent investigation into the enrolment system and an extension for voter registrations in the upcoming Tāmaki Makaurau by-election.
“We are calling for immediate corrective action and a halt to the Government’s electoral law reforms, which, even according to the Attorney-General, breach human rights,” said co-leader Rawiri Waititi.
Te Pāti Māori argues that the legitimacy of the electoral process is at risk, warning that the issues may breach the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“We will not stand by while our people are disenfranchised,” said Ngarewa-Packer. “If no remedy is offered, we will escalate this through the courts and consider action in the Waitangi Tribunal.”
Tāmaki Makaurau candidates urge enrolment checks
Tāmaki Makaurau by-election candidates are urging voters to check their enrolment status after a wave of whānau took to social media reporting the message “no record found” when checking online.
With five weeks until the by-election, both Te Pāti Māori candidate Oriini Kaipara and Labour’s Peeni Henare are raising concerns while out on the campaign trail.
“Hei aha mā tāua, ngā whakararu o te wā. Ko te mea nui, haere ka kimi i a koe, ki te kore koe e kite i a koe, rēhita. I te mea ki te whakaroatia tēnei tukanga, he poto te wā nē? Ka mahue tātou ki muri”.
Peeni Henare spoke more widely about the proposed changes to the electoral system, saying it’s an attack on mana motuhake.
“Kāore tō tāua iwi e whakapono ana ki ngā mahi a tēnei Kāwanatanga. Kua kite atu anō i tētahi atu mahi a tēnei Kāwanatanga ki te haukoti i mana motuhake a te Māori.”
His comments come as the Government pushes forward with sweeping changes to electoral law. Under the proposed Electoral Amendment Bill, voters would no longer be able to enrol or update their details on election day, with a cut-off of 13 days prior and a blanket ban on prisoners.
The Electoral Commission says that if attempts to contact voters have failed, they may be moved to the dormant roll, meaning they will need to re-enrol.
However, speaking to reporters earlier today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith stated that the Electoral Commission had advised the Government that there were no issues with enrolments or the state of the electoral roll.
